Everything you should know about the Most highly classified Air Force facility in the United States.

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The Air Force And CIA Didnt Admit that Area 51 Existed Until 2013
The Air Force And CIA Didn't Admit that Area 51 Existed Until 2013

After a request was filed through the Freedom of Information Act in 2005, the CIA finally acknowledged the base after eight years.

According to the CIA, the correct names for the facility are Homey Airport and Groom Lake, though the organization did refer to it as Area 51 in at least one document during the Vietnam War.

The facility has also been known as Dreamland, Paradise Ranch, Home Base, and Watertown.

Transportation to the base

Everything you should know about the Most highly classified Air Force facility in the United States.

JANET Airlines

Observers have estimated that thousands of people are flown in from Las Vegas daily, to keep Area 51 and other classsified bases in the area operational.

The Defense contractor EG&G operates a private terminal in Las Vegas, and it has been reported using several different aircraft, including six different Boeing 737s using the “JANET” call sign, and “N” numbers registered to the United States Air Force.

The airline's aircraft are generally unmarked, but do have a red paint strip along the windows of the aircraft.

Passengers boarding a JANET plane.
Passengers boarding a JANET plane.

The purpose is to pick up the employees at their home airport, and take them to their place of work. Then, in the afternoon, they take the employees back to their home airports.

The White Bus

Everything you should know about the Most highly classified Air Force facility in the United States.

Other employees arrive at the base via a mysterious white bus, which makes stops at Ash Spring, Crystal Springs, and Alamo—where it parks at the courthouse every night.

Everything you should know about the Most highly classified Air Force facility in the United States.

The bus arrives at the base every morning around 8:30, and passes through the warning signs at Area 51′s front gates. The bus then makes its first security check at the guard shack, only a mile from the warning signs, and then continues to Groom Lake, almost seven miles past the Guard Shack.

Public Access

The closest access that anyone without permission can get to Area 51 are the warning signs at the front gates and back gate. These gates are kept under close surveillance using road sensors, cameras, and the careful watch of the Area 51 border security, known as the “camo dudes.”

Security

Bald Mountain Security Facility
Bald Mountain Security Facility

All surveillance and communication is channeled through the security facility on Bald Mountain–it has even been suggested that this base contains long-range cameras that can track all vehicle traffic on highway 375.

Camo dude with Military K9 at the back gate, during the Area 51 meme event.
Camo dude with Military K9 at the back gate, during the Area 51 meme event.

camo dudes are the private Defense Contractors Under URUS and AECOM, They patrol the 38,000 acres of land owned by The United States Air Force.

Everything you should know about the Most highly classified Air Force facility in the United States.

The camo dudes are known for bothering people who are on the public side of the base border, even though members of the public are legally allowed to be there.

They maintain sensors all over the public land, just to make sure they know who’s approaching the base’s land. Camo dudes are under orders not to approach civilians on public land, but that doesn’t stop them from spying on you or trying to intimidate you.

Area 51's Purpose

During the time of World War II the Groom Lake area was utilized for both artillery and bombing practice and it was this that set the base up for the U-2 project. After being used for practice during the time of WWII the area was abandoned until 1955 and it was in 1955 that Lockheed decided to use the area as a test facility for the U-2 spy plane.

U2 plane at Groom Lake Area 51.
U2 plane at Groom Lake "Area 51".

While workers at the base were still working on the U2, Lockheed began to develop a reconnaissance aircraft that would later become the SR-71 Blackbird. The Mach-3 aircraft was a part of the CIA OXCART project and is what forced the expansion of the Groom Lake facilities that were built to handle the U-2 project. The length of the new aircraft demanded a much longer runway, as well as additional facilities to house and maintain the aircraft. In 1962 the airspace around Lake Groom was closed and a number of new aircraft were shipped in to the area. The first OXCART made its appearance in 1962 and took flight just two months later.

In 1977 the Lockheed Have Blue stealth fighter prototype was finalized and took flight. A number of other similar prototypes were also developed for the next four years until the testing of the Have Blue transformed in to the production of the F-117 stealth planes.

Everything you should know about the Most highly classified Air Force facility in the United States.

In 1983 when the F-117 took flight Groom Lake continued to serve as a testing facility for aircraft technology for the United States. In the following years the base was further expanded including expansion of the runway to allow for programs of larger proportions. Currently the Area 51 air force base now has seven runways for testing of aircraft, although it is believed that the largest of the seven runways is now closed.

Area 51 Tests classified weapons and classified Aircraft out of publics eye and harms way.

Employees off time

Area 51 Employees are Just as Human as the Rest of Us. We’re all prone to mistakes. And while the secret nature of Area 51 implies that only the best of the best work there, these folks still need to blow off steam once in a while.

Exercising during one’s lunch break is common practice these days. Considering that Area 51 employees have to fly to work every day, it’s safe to assume their workdays are very long.

Everything you should know about the Most highly classified Air Force facility in the United States.

How cool would it be to say you can played softball in Area 51? This baseball field looks to be kept in pretty good shape. They’re keeping it well maintained.

Area 51 appears to have a tennis court as well. It’s just a couple hundred feet from the baseball field.

Everything you should know about the Most highly classified Air Force facility in the United States.

Slater Lake was built in the 1960’s specifically for recreational purposes. The government stocked the lake with fish so employees would have something to catch. ust like any other work environment, Area 51 employees had some options for getting their minds off of work once in a while.

Did you learn something new about Area 51? comment below!

Everything you should know about the Most highly classified Air Force facility in the United States.
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